(1960)
Dir - Jules Bricken
Overall: MEH
Perhaps the story that least belongs yet perfectly fit the early crime-centered trajectory of a program called Thriller, "The Guilty Men" is nothing more than a gangster tragedy with some respectable thespians on board. Everett Sloan, Frank Silvera, and John Marley play three men who are now successful in their fields, but all came from a rough background that has integrated two of them into the realm of organized crime. A power grab goes down when Silvera's mob boss tries to go fully legitimate to not only clear his conscious and beat the coming FBI crackdown, but most importantly to finally win the good graces of his estranged brother Marley who is the one member of the old crew to avoid illegal activity entirely as a grown man. There is nothing remarkable here from a narrative perspective, but the cast give it their all and the moral compass of the material is on point.
(1960)
Dir - Douglas Heyes
Overall: GOOD
It took seven episodes for NBC's Thriller to deliver anything in the horror camp, be it in a cliche ridden fashion. "The Purple Room" features the well-trotted gag of someone inheriting and having to spend the night in a haunted house in order to reap the potential financial benefits of the place, and Rip Torn plays this someone with the standard skeptical gusto of a young man who is determined to make that money no matter how many bumps in the night he as to endure. Alan Napier also shows up, plus the house in question is the one from the same year's Psycho, at least on the exterior. Motifs are here that had and would continue to be mined within the genre, but writer/director Douglas Heyes loads the presentation with creepy atmosphere, staging some wonderful scenes in the process and delivering something that is less tongue-in-cheek than William Castle's brand of spookshow high-jinks, by comparison.
(1960)
Dir - John Brahm
Overall: MEH
An adaptation of Dolores Hitchens' 1959 novel of the same name, "The Watcher" pits a self-righteous school teacher against a small resort town that is not used to serial killer tomfoolery. Martin Gabel's character is equipped with eccentricities, namely being all up in a few people's business and presenting himself as a harmless if nosy man who wants to make sure that his fellow neighbors are all on the moral up and up. This of course is a ruse in order for him to select the most "deserving" victims, which in typical deranged male killer mold are mostly helpless women, though a young Richard Chamberlain feels the brunt of Gabel's wrath as well during one particularly grisly scene. Most of the story revolves around Chamberlain and Olive Sturgess secretive romance though, the drama of which comes off as dated and uninteresting.
(1960)
Dir - Mitchell Leisen
Overall: MEH
Another Charlotte Armstrong novel gets the Thriller treatment in "Girl with a Secret", said girl in question discovering that her new husband is an undercover agent who has some shady fellows close on his trail that are prone to selling government secrets to the highest bidder. A small detail emerges that forces Myrna Fahey to have such a secret, and things unravel quickly from there with suspicious enquirers being made, the bad guys getting the upper hand, and some blind luck saving the day. Charles Beaumont's teleplay has enough forward momentum, Rex Holman makes for a creepy henchman that likes to grin menacingly, and Cloris Leachman even shows up in a small part. Still, this is another filler episode until the program got to its more memorable ones; adequately done, yet lacking in pizazz or enough differentiating qualities to make it stand out amongst any other non-Western or comedy TV from the day.
(1960)
Dir - John Brahm
Overall: MEH
The first of five Thriller episodes to feature Boris Karloff in a lead role besides that of the host, "The Prediction" answers the question of what would happen to a phony psychic if they all of a sudden were granted legit premonition powers. Karloff of course is excellent, portraying a doomed man without any villainous tendencies besides his smoke and mirror act that he performs with his daughter Audrey Dalton. Donald S. Sanford's plot gets overwrought after awhile as Karloff continues to have visions of more and more deaths, with subplots involving romance, gambling, and scandals thrown in. Some of it ties together cleverly, some predictably, but it is mostly just a treat for Karloff fans to see the seventy-three year-old actor still giving it his all.
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